The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, has publicly ridiculed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar after a photo emerged appearing to show him sleeping during Saturday’s high-stakes opposition summit in Ibadan.
Basiru shared a screenshot of the Arise News live broadcast on his Facebook page with the sarcastic caption: “And the opposition leader slept at the all-important opposition summit…..”
The image, which shows Atiku seated next to PDP factional chairman Kabiru Turaki, immediately sparked a wave of social media commentary.
The post triggered a flurry of sarcastic and critical responses from Nigerians. One user, Ojewande Taiwo, remarked, “This is the man that wants to rescue Nigeria! It’s better he rescues himself.”
Another commenter, Tunde Obasemola, took a political jab, stating, “So shall the election be lost and won while in slumber.”
While some users like Deji Omo Akinsola-Fakanlu jokingly defended Atiku by saying he was “just communing with the gods — he was not sleeping,” others used the moment to call for a change in leadership.
Thunderson Adaramola urged the former Vice President to step aside and act as a statesman rather than an active candidate.
Beyond the viral photo, Basiru dismissed the entire Ibadan gathering as a “ruse,” arguing that it lacked official party backing.
Speaking to The Nation, he claimed:“For parties to meet, there must be prior authorisation from their National Working Committee (NWC) or National Executive Committee (NEC). Without that, it is simply a gathering of individuals.”
He further argued that the opposition’s plan to “gang up” against the APC proves they “lack the strength to compete individually.”
Despite the mockery, the summit—which featured heavyweights like Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and host Seyi Makinde—concluded with the “Ibadan Declaration.”
The parties, including the LP and NNPP, resolved to field a single candidate for 2027 to prevent a one-party state.
They also demanded urgent reviews of the Electoral Act 2026 and expressed a lack of confidence in the current INEC leadership.
Atiku himself ignored the “sleeping” controversy in his own post-summit remarks, focusing instead on the alliance’s goals.
He wrote:“The time has come to forge a united opposition, bound by purpose and driven by the sacred duty to defend and sustain our democracy.”
